The Gall of the St. Gallen Mafia
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“Never let anyone know what you are thinking.”~Mario Puzo, The Godfather

Darkness descended onto Piazza di San Pietro into the evening hours of March 13, 2013, as the successor to the resigned Benedict XVI, was introduced to the Cat holic Church.

Invited onto the balcony, a mere arm’s length from the new Pontiff, Cardinal Godfried Danneels surveyed the massive crowd during the announcement of the papal election of Jorge Bergoglio. There, on the Loggia of St. Peter’s, he stood, sending a message with his smug triumphant gaze.

Rewarded for his unstinting loyalty and ecclesial political prowess, he stands prominently with the Pontiff, as an acknowledgement from his peers that Danneels’ handpicked choice is finally elevated to the Chair of St. Peter.

Decked out in his ceremonial scarlet, Belgian Cardinal Danneels proudly stood as the victorious mastermind behind the clandestine St. Gallen group of European prelates who plotted since 1996 to elect a radical reformer pope. Early on, the St. Gallen group identified their prime papal contender as Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina, confident that he would radically transform and modernize the Catholic Church in their image and likeness. They kept their scheme and racket carefully under wraps.

They nearly won the turf war in 2005 when John Paul II died. The St. Gallen group scrambled for their opportunity to install their man, yet fell short. Their papal politicking tallied a second place papal ballot finish for Bergoglio, but ultimately he lost out to the conservative Car dinal Ratzinger. Media reports state that the St. Gallen group never met after 2006. Perhaps, they never met again in St. Gallen, or possibly they changed their name and met elsewhere.

Frustration was building. They were running out of precious time, as the St. Gallen group aged and, more importantly, Jorge Bergoglio was rapidly growing too old for papabile. The dream of modernizing the Church was slipping through their ecclesial fingers. Worst of all, a relatively healthy Benedict occupied the Chair of Peter as an impenetrable impediment to their plans.

Apart from the devil, there is no more unforgiving enemy, than random Father Time.

The clock was ticking. Without divine intervention, Benedict appeared firmly ensconced in the Seat of Peter. The St. Gallen Prelates couldn’t wait another 3 or 4 years for his earthly demise. Besides Cardinal Bergoglio was already 76, and soon, he would be too old to be elected Pope.

Then, the unthinkable happened. Lightening struck St. Peter’s. “You can’t hide the thunderbolt. When it hits you, everybody can see it. Christ, man, don’t be ashamed of it, some men pray for the thunderbolt. You’re a very lucky fellow.” ~Mario Puzo,The Godfather

Lightning struck, when Pope Benedict, the man who had stood in the way of Bergoglio’s papal fortunes, abdicated the throne of Peter. With a crack of thunder out of the dark blue sky, the long-awaited plans of St. Gallen would enfold behind the conclave curtain.

Danneels and his St. Gallen co-conspirators quickly and skillfully engineered the election of their designated pope-in-waiting, the Cardinal of Buenos Aires. Bergoglio was elected Pope by the College of Cardinals, and the rest, is heresy.

For nearly 2 decades, this secret cabal schemed and plotted to install Jorge Bergolio of Buenos Aires as the 266th pontiff to drastically reform the Catholic Church.

Godfried, the Godfather sought acclaim for the Bergoglio election, thus demonstrating the famous line of the Godfather, “vanity is my favorite sin.”

What does it say about the papal selection of Bergoglio that one of his chief promoters characterizes the papal plotters as mafia?

What kind of man, a Prince of the Church, no less, flippantly brags about being a member of the St. Gallen group which he describes as the ‘mafia’?

What kind of man, a Cardinal, proudly proclaims that he and his clandestine group of prelates named themselves after the violent criminal organization that kills for money and power, terrorizes and blackmails ordinary citizens, and dominates with murderous savagery and intimidation?

What kind of papabile surrounds himself with supporters who boast that they are the mafia?

What manner of high Church officials call themselves the mafia, after the criminal organization that strong arms the weak, silences the vocal, and flexes political muscle with intimidation?

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Elizabeth Yore served on the Heartland Institute Delegation that traveled to the Vatican in April 2015 to urge Pope Francis to re-examine his reliance on UN population control proponents who promote climate change. She is an international child protection attorney who has investigated several cases of clergy sex abuse of children. She served as Special Counsel and Child Advocate to Oprah Winfrey. She is the former General Counsel of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services and former General Counsel at National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.